


A Hundred Ways to Put the WRO Back Together

by CatatonicEngineers



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: AvaFAM is the Best Fam, Ducks in Need of Bubble Baths, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gold Saucer (Compilation of FFVII), PlushiePrincess, Road Trips, Shameless sugary trash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:54:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25685389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatatonicEngineers/pseuds/CatatonicEngineers
Summary: The concluding piece of the PlushiePrincess fluff saga. The WRO takes an impromptu roadtrip and the infamous Gold Saucer gondola works its magic yet again.
Relationships: Yuffie Kisaragi/Reeve Tuesti
Kudos: 64





	A Hundred Ways to Put the WRO Back Together

She might’ve realized it that day on the Tiny Bronco with her head bent over the railing, puking her guts into the ocean. AVALANCHE – what was left of AVALANCHE – yelling at each other pulsated with every beat of her throbbing migraine. Okay, so Cid and Cait Sith were yelling. Vincent didn’t yell. He judged. That was worse.

“Ya gotta be outta yer stuffin’ filled mind if ya think I’m gonna waltz into Junon,” Cid slammed a cup of tea across the deck. Delicate porcelain shattered, a weird contrast to the slew of cussing that followed. “How do we know this ain’t a trap to get us all in one place and make this televised execution a goddamn three part solstice special?”

“Crikey,” Cait Sith stood up on his moogle to shout in Cid’s face. “I didnae say waltz into Junon. I said infiltrate the –”

“Oh, so now I’m takin’ orders from you, cat?” Cid hollered back.

“It would be illogical for him to betray us again.” Vincent stared down at his folded arms, cape billowing in the wind like a perfect, brooding statue of badassery. Yuffie picked her head up long enough to take in his calm, unaffected manner, maybe try to absorb some of it before gagging again. “There’s very little to be gained when our entire organization has already been compromised.”

Pouncing on the obscure shred of optimism, Cait Sith forged on with the same energy as someone who’d just been promoted to head event planner since the last one was, well, about to be executed. “That’s what I’ve been tellin’ ya! We just have to crack on and steal the Highwind.”

“Steal the –” Cid looked like he wanted to put his cigar out on Cait Sith’s plushie hide. The rage lifted for a moment. “Okay, yeah, I’m interested.”

Ears folding in relief, the tiny cat sunk back onto its moogle. “The most sensible thing to do is to split into two teams.” He held up one mitteny glovey finger. “You lads hijack the airship, while I sneak into the base.”

“What part of hell no didn’t you understand, cat?” Cid yanked Cait Sith up by his shoulders and shook him like a ragdoll. The stuffed cat flailed in confusion and Yuffie knew the idiot was trying to piece together what he’d said wrong. It was a thin line that Shinra guy was walking alright. “You gotta think we’re pretty damn stupid. So everybody but you runs off to the airstrip, eh? Sounds pretty convenient to me. And where’re you goin’? To call your friends? One word outta your mouth and we’ll be surrounded by SOLDIERs.”

“Simmer down, jimminy,” Cait Sith jerked free. “You’ll attract too much attention, Mr. Send Me To Space Or I’ll Burn The Whole Company Down. And if ye haven’t noticed, I’ve a bit of skill when it comes to espionage.”

Right, Cid used to work for Shinra too. He’d be recognized easy peasy. Vincent was also a bit, well, noticeable, especially by certain higher ups. 

“That’s what they deserve for shittin’ on a man’s dreams!”

“You an’ me both know that program was a waste of money.”

“Take that back.”

“You shove right off!” Cait Sith’s voice went pitchier with all the rage of a guy who probably always got the last slice of cake at company parties. Not even the corner piece, but the awkward middle-end one with almost no icing. “We’re wastin’ time!”

“If you’re the one callin’ the shots, then you should’ve gotten Barret and Tifa outta there in the first place.” Cid hurled back.

Wincing, Yuffie watched Cait Sith’s ears droop as the plush crumpled in on itself. The painful silence didn’t make Cid relent. He attacked at the first sign of weakness.

“Got nothin’ to say, cat?” Cid went on. “No fortunes and goddamn hat tricks to help ya? Whose fault is it that Shinra knew our every move from the jump, huh? Now Barret and Tifa are payin’ for it. Predict that, ya spineless ball of fluff.”

“I trust Cait Sith,” Yuffie wiped her mouth. She repeated the sentiment louder when they all turned to look at her. Assholes probably forgot she was even there. “I trust him, I trust him without question, even though he sold us out for like a free lunch voucher or something.”

“I,” Cait Sith’s whiskers twitched. “I didnae actually do that.” He murmured to Cid.

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter.” Yuffie stomped her foot on the deck. “What matters is that all of you pricks worked for Shinra at one point or another so move on, hug and make up, I don’t care. Know who didn’t work for Shinra? Like, ever? Me.” She jabbed her thumb into her chest. “They’ve only seen the face of the White Rose of Wutai in their worst nightmares. That means I can help too.”

Cait Sith didn’t exactly have eyes, but the grandma stitched slits that almost always looked happy turned worried. She could tell by the way his brow lifted, mouth hanging open to reveal small fangs. “I cannae ask ye to do that, lassie. I,” he clenched his fists. “I won’t put anyone else in danger if I can help it.”

“Too late for that,” Yuffie snorted. She swallowed the rising bile and straightened. “I’m in. I’ve been in since before I had a choice. That’s what you get when you’re born in a place that people tell stories about, but all you ever see are postcards. I’ve been hurling myself into danger way before you came around, so don’t flatter yourself. Just tell me where to meet up.”

Cait Sith stared at her a moment longer before giving a sharp nod.

Truth was, she didn’t exactly believe in Cait Sith with unwavering certainty. It was more like a thirty percent chance he wasn’t leading them into a trap. Maybe sixty-five on a good day. But she wanted to believe in him, as if telling someone they could do better would make them a better person. Yuffie wrinkled her nose when she realized that was exactly the kind of sugary, obnoxious schtick he’d lectured her on after she’d nicked their materia. Well, if she could do better, so could Cait.

There was an undeniable thrill to the risk of it all. Kinda sexy even. He’d told her to rendezvous with him at the harbor. The coordinates blipped on Yuffie’s phone as she approached. She swore it was keeping time with her quickening anxiety. 

Fifteen minutes until the broadcast. 

Picking up the pace, she hurried down the broad cobble avenue, glancing around for her partner. She wasn’t quite at the meet up point, but he might be somewhere in the crowds. Since he was a spy, he could probably blend in anywhere, stealthy and flawless with catlike grace but also killer kitty instincts. Master of espionage was what he’d said. Shinra’s finest. She wondered if he had an outpost in Junon. Maybe that was where they were meeting, behind a steel door tricked out with the latest tech, lasers and grappling hooks inside, ready to outfit them for the best heist she’d ever been on.

“Ohgod, is this Stuff-A-Plush Workshop?” Yuffie looked up from her phone. Her eyes locked onto the bright pastel sign of a bear with a stitched candy heart. There were children running around her, screeching, and gross couples buying matching stuffed animals. 

“Aye, lass, over here!” Cait Sith and his pink blob friend waved at her from the door. Sure, she knew he – the real he – was still in Midgar, but for a moment her misplaced confidence had her thinking they’d finally meet in person. If he was such a flippin’ genius, he might’ve at least managed to pull off a last minute rescue and dynamic face reveal.

Sighing, Yuffie kept her disappointment to a dull murmur. “You’re never gonna show your face, are you?” 

He didn’t hear her. The blob was too busy struggling to carry four Stuff-A-Plush bags while Cait continued waving. The tiny cat hopped up and down as if she hadn’t seen the giant stuffed moogle a mile away.

Yuffie ducked against the cotton candy machine and frowned when he shoved one of the bags at her. There were some glasses, a vest, plastic microphones that you could accessorize your stuffed bunny or puppy with so they looked like a real reporter.

“Cait,” Yuffie swallowed a thousand reasons why they were all very well fucked. “Before we do this, just tell me one thing.”

“Eh?” Cait Sith tipped his head, ears flopping. 

“Are your coworkers really this stupid?” She held up a hat with the Stuff-A-Plush tag still attached.

“Oh,” Cait Sith paused a moment. “Most definitely.”

\------------

Or maybe it happened the day she kissed her boss in a utility closet.

It certainly wasn’t the moment when they finally met, not then, not with some terrible identity reveal and fade to credits magic. Honestly, he looked like shit when she first met him three years ago. It wasn’t his fault. He’d been evacuating Midgar for hours before they’d arrived. Dark circles framed a pair of dark eyes (she’d learn later that they were more hazel, depending on the light). His hair was plastered to his forehead, soot and ash lining his cheekbones (which weren’t bad). 

Still, it wasn’t weird or awkward. One look and she knew; that was Cait Sith.

Calling him Reeve took a bit of getting used to, but they had a lot of time to get used to each other. After the Stuff-A-Plush heist, he would’ve been a fool to make anyone else the head of WRO intelligence. It didn’t matter that no one else was lining up to volunteer and hiring a seventeen-year-old for an unpaid espionage internship was probably the best choice for the group’s budget. The commissioner had way too much on his plate to keep up the plushie spy hobby and she was glad to take it over.

Or she had been. Yuffie figured the worst of it was done when Shinra collapsed in on itself like a dying corporate star. With her hand pressed against the life support tank, watching her friend’s eyelashes flutter and tricking herself into thinking Shalua would wake up, would prove everyone wrong, that her brain – her fucking amazing brain – wasn’t dead; that was when Yuffie realized she’d been wrong. 

Things could always get worst. 

Hot tears raced her pounding feet as she stormed down the cold, metallic hall of the WRO base. Whatever was left of the base. There were little pieces of things everywhere now. Broken parts. A blown up generator here, a bottle of Banora White there that reminded her so fucking much of Shalua.

Yuffie threw open the door to the utility closet and found the leader of the World Regenesis Organization face down on the floor. The sight didn’t alarm her; he tended to shut down, flop over like a discarded plush and just lie there. It hadn’t happened in awhile, but she supposed he was overdue. 

Wiping the tears from her chin, Yuffie gulped down mucus. A trail of snot ran from her nose to her lip and she knew her face was bright red. Her cheeks burned when Reeve rolled over to stare at her, a hint of surprise widening his gaze. 

“Th-this is my mopey spot,” Yuffie sniffled. “Get your own.”

“Pretty sure I found it first.” Reeve didn’t move. The concern melted back to resignation. He looked as defeated as a grown man lying next to a mop and some spare circuit boards could look. 

Sputtering indiscernible noises of anger and frustration, Yuffie marched over and kicked him in the side. She was still kicking him when he held an arm out to her. 

“Come here.” How dare he sound so unaffected by her best combat skills.

A distinct burning in the back of her throat was her only warning before the tears came rushing back. She ducked under his arm, flopping on top of him, and buried her nose in his coat. He smelled like engine grease and fluff; a distinct Reeve aroma. 

“Shalua,” Yuffie croaked. 

“I know.”

“Vincent got mad at me for hitting that stupid little bitch.” The anger was back. Sad, angry, sad again. It was like some twisted roulette wheel of feelings.

“Shelke?” He lifted his head and Yuffie felt his chest rise.

Yuffie sniffed in disgust at the sympathy in his tone. She wasn’t sorry and she wasn’t going to apologize for smacking that brat.

“Yuffie, she’s a child. You can’t hit children.”

Grumbling what might have passed for agreement (but absolutely wasn’t), she squeezed her eyes shut. “Remember when the first oil rig went up,” Yuffie hated having to swallow tears between every word. “And we all went to Gold Saucer to celebrate?”

A long silence twisted in her gut before Reeve managed a single, “Yeah.”

“And you and Barret and Shalua got super hammered and all started talking your nerd shit about the planet and sustainable energy.”

“Shalua hacked the intercom to give an entire lecture.”

“I swore I was never gonna party with you losers after that.”

Reeve’s tired laugh was a small relief. At least he hadn’t retreated so far into human-plushie mode that he couldn’t still laugh.

“I wouldn’t have minded one more trip to Gold Saucer though.” She whispered. “Shalua would kick your ass if you gave up.”

“Hmm.” Reeve sniffed. “Vincent said the same thing. Don’t give up.”

“He’s right. Listen to coffin boy.”

Reeve’s arm rolled away and Yuffie slid off him, her head resting against his shoulder when he turned to give her an exhausted smile. She knew he’d be okay now. He opened his mouth to say something – get up, let’s go, I’m counting on you, whatever stupid motivational Cait Sith schtick he used to boost morale. That was his job after all; fearless plushie leader of the WRO.

She should’ve listened. Instead she kissed him. 

It happened so fast she didn’t think about it. Then the silence, the blank staring, the near horror dawning on his face – that part lasted forever.

Yuffie swore a solid five minutes past before he yanked his arm out from under her and sprinted for the door. Her head knocked into the broom. Such a gentleman. “Uh,” Reeve called, already halfway to the command center. “Well then. Good talk, Yuffie!”

Mortified wasn’t really the right word for the things that happen after kissing one’s boss. Wanting to leap off the Highwind, that might’ve been more accurate. Change her name. Run away. Start a new life somewhere as a lone hermit wandering the planet. None of it seemed unreasonable.

Every time she entered the command center, Reeve bolted like there was a half off sale at Stuff-A-Plush. When she reached around him to pinpoint her squad’s route on the tacti-map, he told her it was fine without even looking at it – let alone at her – and retreated behind Cid. Gaia forbid if they were ever alone. He’d fake that damn polite smile and find some excuse to be elsewhere.

In an act of desperate frustration and growing rage, Yuffie wished Vincent luck and hugged him, groping his tight leather ass in plain view of the entire strike team. That only earned her the most uncomfortable silence she’d ever witnessed in one of Reeve’s motivational speeches and a very confused stare from Vincent. 

The truth was she didn’t care if he reciprocated her feelings anymore. It was clear he most certainly did not. Just talking again would’ve been fine. There were so many things she wanted to say. She wanted to tell him about the new materia she’d found while scouting near Condor, about how she’d prank called Cloud and made him deliver a Midgar Pizza to the middle of the mountains, ask him if his brain was okay after the SND and maybe work in how she was really worried that microchip in Cait was going to give him an aneurysm or something one day.

But none of that mattered because she’d kissed her bestfriend. 

If Shalua were there, she’d laugh at her and tell her to give it time. Things wouldn’t be weird forever. Maybe she was right or maybe the state of the world was so weird that it eclipsed whatever stupid shit she did on the daily. 

Like always, they’d found their way back to each other with a Mako reactor exploding in the distance. Fade to credits. Cue music.

\------------

Sometimes she’d think about those moments, allow her imagination to wonder what if. It broke the tedium between listening to the radio, searching for distress signals, sending out messages that became more hopeless with every failed attempt. 

Yuffie was sure Reeve had long since forgotten about it. At least his lack of concern saved her from further embarrassment. She watched him staring at his computer. Red veins crept at the corners of his eyes. 

“Take a break.” Yuffie spun around in her swivel chair. New soundproof tiles lined the ceiling of the WRO command center. A few charred patches remained, old gunfire. It made them look more badass. 

He pretended not to hear her.

“Reeve, you’ve been at this for nine hours.” Yuffie got up and slammed his laptop shut. “The signal isn’t catching anything, just like it hasn’t picked up a response for the last five months.” She slumped over his desk, exhausted. “If Vincent’s out there, he’s ignoring us.”  
“He’s out there.” Reeve said and Yuffie wondered if he was saying it more to himself than her.

“Okay.” She didn’t have the energy to argue or the heart to dwell on the possibility that Reeve was wrong. “So we need to keep ourselves together and stay alert. You’re useless when you’re this tired.” 

Reeve gave a slight “meh” of acknowledgment. He didn’t take his headphones off. The far off look in his eyes told her he wasn’t listening. Damn it, this wasn’t her job. Vincent was the one who dragged Reeve out of crippling depression and stopped him from wallowing. They needed him back. She wasn’t cut out for the stress of a catatonic commissioner. Coffin boy was the only one who could get him to snap out of it when he retreated too far into his plushie shell to be reasoned with.

“Kitty!”

Well, Vincent and one other person. 

Yuffie smirked, turning just in time to watch Marlene tackle Reeve in a hug and startle the hell out of him. Noise canceling headphones didn’t stand a chance against a sugar hyped seven-year-old. Yuffie caught the expensive AV equipment when Marlene knocked them off Reeve’s head. The WRO didn’t have the budget for her to be breaking things, even if her dad was heading their primary initiative.

“Kitty, Kitty, Kitty!” Marlene chanted. “Guess what? I getta help with the drill today and then we’re gonna go visit the beach and also I heard you were going to Gold Saucer Con this year. Are you gonna go? Are you gonna wear your cat ears? Can I come? Please, please, please?”

Reeve swung her to the ground and Marlene let go at last. “Sorry, but I don’t think we’ll be able to make it this time. Maybe next year.” With Vincent missing and the WRO pulling itself back together after Deep Ground, there wasn’t much time for fun, not even for nerds. 

“But it has to be this year!” Marlene’s big, brown eyes turned pitiful. “Minato Aoki is gonna be there.”

Reeve tilted his head with a confused smile. “Who?”

“The voice of Lil Stamp.” Yuffie hid a snigger behind her hand.

“Oh.” Reeve’s face fell. How that show was still circulating for nine seasons was the bane of his existence. He often remarked on how Lil Stamp had managed to outlive the company itself. Seemed unnatural for a cartoon dog to gain that much notoriety. 

“And I hafta get him to sign my Lil Stamp backpack,” Marlene pleaded.

“Ah, sorry.” Reeve rested his palm on her head. “There will be other conventions.”

“Not with Lil Stamp.” She pouted.

“But we can still go to the excavation site.” Reeve tried to distract her. “You wanted to see the beach, right?”

“Yeah!” Marlene grabbed both their hands and lead them down the cold metallic hall.

After two days of looking at radio blips and computer monitors, Yuffie thought she’d forgotten what sunlight was. The day was bright enough to remind her that the world wasn’t all doom and gloom. Perfect in fact; blue water lapped the shore near the oil rig, gulls circled overhead, and the salty tang of the ocean replaced the smell of days old coffee that she’d grown accustomed to. Stretching her legs felt great.  


“Race ya!” Yuffie giggled to Marlene. They went rushing down the coast, kicking up piles of sand. A few of their operatives were overseeing the day’s extraction. Marlene’s dad was easy to spot as the guy yelling at them all to work faster. 

“Barret!” Yuffie waved. 

He cracked a grin when they approached.

“I found them,” Marlene beamed. 

“Well, if it ain’t the loudmouthed thief and the Shinra manager,” Barret ruffled Marlene’s hair.

“Yes, that is me.” Yuffie wore the title with pride while her companion whined about how he hadn’t worked for Shinra in years and he wasn’t even a manager.

“This is a surprise.” Reeve frowned. 

“Figured I’d drop in and make sure you weren’t runnin’ things to the ground.” He laughed.

“Kitty,” Marlene tugged on Reeve’s sleeve. “Come help me find seashells.”

The distraction was exactly what their fearless commissioner needed. Anything to get him away from his computer. They ran off down the beach, leaving Yuffie behind to walk along the rigs. Since they’d first struck oil, their operation had grown exponentially in the years that followed. Barret had recently found another site near Cosmo Canyon. Soon Edge wouldn’t have any trouble powering the city. New houses and businesses would start to open up and people would actually want to move there. Things were getting better everyday.

Except on days when a herd of WRO operatives were clustered around the northern cove with Barret at the center, muttering curses to himself.

Yuffie approached with a tentative, “hey, what’s happenin’?”

The scowl on Barret’s face told her very bad things were happening. “One of the rigs broke down. We didn’t count on this when we did the impact analysis.”

Black goop encroached the shoreline. It reminded her of the awful sludge left behind from Geostigma. A distinct, pungent smell hit her nose and she realized it was oil. Tiny rainbows swirled through the water where the chemicals mixed. The residue coated the plants and anemones, marring the edges of corals and rocks. That wasn’t the worst of it. 

On the beach, a little ways from the spill, sat a plastic tub. A flock of ducks, the kind that liked to drift lazily in tide pools, quacked inside. Kunsel was gathering more and plopping them on top of the others. They looked awful, feathers sticking out, tar blackening their once glossy down. The longer Yuffie stared, the more she realized how far the oil stretched. Kunsel was pulling out a third storage tub by the time she swung around to face Barret.

“Don’t tell Reeve.” They managed to blurt out in unison.

“Don’t tell Kitty what?” Marlene stood on the grassy knoll above the cove. A basket of seashells rested in her hands. 

Choking on the curse she wanted to mutter, Yuffie winced. Reeve was standing beside Marlene, but his attention was fixed on the spill and the ruined coastline and the dead anemones and the oily ducks. The color had gone out of his face.

“I know this looks bad, but --” Yuffie held up a finger.

“Shut down all the rigs.” Reeve managed.

“What?” Barret shouted beside her. 

“Shut. Them. All. Down.”

“Are you outta yer mind?” Barret flung his arm at the excavation site. “People depend on this shit. We can’t just shut the whole operation down after one accident, ya big cat.”

Scowling at him, Reeve turned to Kunsel instead. “Kunsel, inform the crew that they’re unemployed.”

“Do not follow that order, Kunsel.” Barret’s right arm morphed seamlessly from hand to gatling gun. “Don’t fucking do it.”

Looking from one angry WRO leader to the other, Kunsel panicked and dropped a tub of ducks. The poor feather fluffs went rolling down the hill, quacking in disapproval. Yuffie realized the tar coated their wings so well that they couldn’t fly. She helped Marlene and Kunsel pick them up again and deposit them into the tub. Above her head, Barret and Reeve hurled insults at each other.

“Every operation is gonna have a few setbacks.” Barret was hollering. “What’re you gonna do? Scrap the whole thing every time?”

“Yes, if it means preventing casualties.” Reeve wasn’t much taller than her so screaming into Barret’s face was an achievement in both skill and boldness. She realized he’d found an empty duck container to stand on. That helped. “No amount of risk is acceptable. I won’t support it. That’s not what the WRO is about.”

“Then you’ll never do anything cause you’re too damn scared to take a chance!” Barret returned.

“You know what?” Reeve sounded like he was about to make a fantastic point. Yuffie groaned when all he offered was defeat. “You’re right, I won’t do anything. I’m going to lock myself in my office and reconsider every decision I’ve ever made.”

“Nice job.” Yuffie darted a look at Barret. 

By the time they reached the commissioner’s office, the door was shut tight. Exactly as promised, damn him. 

“Shit.” Barret looked down at his phone.

“What?” Yuffie leaned in. 

He was checking the WRO bank account. As head of energy initiatives and entirely not silent partner, Barret got the alerts too. That lead to many rage filled phone calls that Yuffie often filtered and translated back to Reeve as thoughtful concern. But this… this was beyond the realm of reasonable expenditures. The bank had sent out four alerts to verify that the account hadn’t been hacked after Reeve ordered a thousand gil worth of plushies on the WN. He only impulse shopped like that when he was really spiraling.

“Reeve, come on,” Yuffie jiggled the doorknob. She could’ve picked the lock, but that would only make Reeve throw a bookcase in front of it again. “No one could’ve known something like this was gonna happen.”

“And we’ve already got our engineers lookin’ into the problem.” Barret pounded on the door. “They’ll have it fixed by tomorrow and it ain’t gonna happen again.”

“And Kunsel and Marlene are cleaning the ducks off in the break room sink.” Yuffie tried for a note of peppy optimism in her tone. “They’re gonna be fine. Although, I can totally see how all those mangled ducks kinda look like how the fifty thousand people that got smushed under the Sector 7 plate.”

“Yuffie!” Barret yelled at her.

The words tumbled out before she could stop them. Every time she tried to make it better, it somehow got worse. “You know, from the last time your big engineering project failed. Then the lifestream burst out and gooped up Midgar kinda like the beach and --”

“Yuffie!” Barret screamed again, more urgent this time.

“Right, well,” Frowning, she gave the door a small tap. “We’ll, uh, we’ll just leave you alone, okay?”  
No response came. 

She retreated to the break room with Barret and collapsed at one of the cheap plastic tables. A duck wandered across, shaking its wet feathers everywhere. They couldn’t let him give up like this. Barret was right; people depended on their operations. Lifting her head, Yuffie’s eyes met with the Gold Saucer Con flyer dangling from the fridge. A slow smirk crossed her face.

Cait Sith wasn’t the only one who was good at guessing the future.

\------------

Harsh light warmed the driver’s side window and bounced off the glass to irritate Yuffie’s eyes. She realized they’d fallen asleep in the backseat waiting for Reeve. Marlene was curled against her side. Yuffie nudged her awake. She held a finger to her mouth, then inched closer to the front seat. 

“Good morning!” Yuffie popped up behind Reeve, throwing her arms in the air while he screamed and almost swerved in front of a semi.

“Morning!” Marlene echoed.

“What’re you – how did you --” Words didn’t seem to cooperate with him.

Yuffie swung herself into the passenger’s seat. “Thought you could run off and go to Gold Saucer Con without us? Please.” He was so predictable. “If you’re gonna chuck responsibility to the wind, it’s not fair to do it alone.” She rifled through the stack of convention brochures. He’d already highlighted a few events and panels. Nerd. 

“Absolutely not.” The firm refusal wasn’t quite authoritative when he was wearing a cat eared headband. “I’m turning around at the next exit.”

A chorus of no’s drowned out the lecture he tried to muster. 

“Marlene,” he’d given up trying to reason with Yuffie already. “You know you can’t run off like this. Barret’s going to kill me.”

“I sent Daddy a StampBop.” Marlene held up her phone to some app that played the show’s theme song. “He says it’s fine.”

Reeve’s knuckles tightened on the steering wheel. “Fantastic. So he can undermine me and keep the extraction site going.”

“Please, Kitty, please?” Marlene climbed into Yuffie’s seat. She was also wearing ears, but hers were bright yellow Lil Stamp ones. “I’ve never, ever, ever, ever been to Gold Saucer before. Ever.”

Squeezing his eyes shut, Reeve opened them again with newfound resignation.

“It’s the happiest place in Gaia, Reeve.” Yuffie smirked. 

“And we’ll be there in time for the convention!” Marlene waved a stuffed dog in the air. “Lil Stamp!”

“Alright, alright,” Reeve relented with a smile at last. “I can’t stand by and let you go without ever, ever, ever seeing Gold Saucer.”

“Yay!” Marlene tossed the stuffed Stamp in the air. “I heard there were chocobo races!”

“And moogle shaped food!”

“And spooky ghosts!”

“And Shooting Coaster!”

Yuffie leaned back in her seat and folded her arms. She wanted to ask if they were planning to rattle off every attraction the amusement park had for the entirety of the car ride, but at least Reeve wasn’t moping about dead ducks. 

“Let’s take a picture,” Marlene declared, holding up her phone. The moogle charm rattled against the screen.

“What is this app anyway, Marlene?” Reeve frowned while she snapped a roadtrip moment of the three of them.

“It’s StampBop, Kitty.” She was absorbed in typing on that thing again. Kids these days didn’t know how lucky they had it. When Yuffie was her age, her dad was making her train eight hours a day at the dojo, not spend every waking minute glued to a screen. “You can take pictures and videos and add music and share it with your friends.” She looked up for an instant. “Oh, we gotta get Denzel a present at the gift shop.”

A rumbling thud made Yuffie suspect they’d run over a hedgehog pie. She leaned out the window. No pink sludge in the treads. The sound didn’t stop. Another rumble-thud and smoke was misting the windshield. 

“Does StampBop fix engines?” Yuffie groaned and covered her face with her hands. The piece of junk Reeve called Shadowfox broke down at least every other week. She continued whining as Reeve pulled to the side of the desert highway. Blazing hot sun smacked her in the face when they got out of the van. She watched him open the hood and frowned at the plumes of smoke spewing out. Yep, engine was fried. Again.

“I can fix this,” Reeve had that determined look on his face that never ended well.

“No,” Yuffie stepped between him and the engine. “Uh-uh. You fix it every time it breaks down and that’s why it keeps breaking down. Take it to a real mechanic. You’re a civil engineer that’s been unemployed for almost four years.”

Marlene looked up from her phone. “Nuh-uh,” she was quick to defend her favorite babysitter. “That’s not what Kitty did. He knows lotsa stuff and works really hard.” 

“Thank you, Marlene.” Reeve glared at Yuffie.

“Daddy says he was a little bitch for Shinra before the WRO.” Marlene declared with that adorable smile of hers.

Doubling over with laughter, Yuffie tried to contain her sniggering long enough to catch her breath. She took another look at the engine. They weren’t going anywhere. Cars buzzed past on the highway. Sighing, she figured she’d have to be the one to save the day.

“Well,” Yuffie started to pull up her shirt. “Watch and learn, Marlene. This is how you get a lift.”

Reeve tackled her and yanked her shirt down before she could so much as flash her brazier at the oncoming traffic. “Yuffie!” 

“What?” She elbowed him off. “Unless you’re gonna hitch up that coat and show some cat leg or something, we’re not goin’ anywhere.”

“We’ll walk to the nearest fuel station.” Reeve threw her bag to her and slammed the car door. “We can call a tow from there.”

“Oh!” Marlene caught her Lil Stamp backpack. “Remember to use Strife Delivery Service.” 

Rolling her eyes at the shit Cloud would give them for this, Yuffie grabbed Marlene’s hand and Reeve grabbed hers, forming a chain of miserable, animal-eared people dragging suitcases and backpacks down the side of the highway. Dry wind kicked up. Yuffie squinted to keep the wavering road signs in view. She wondered which would take her out first; the heat or the fact that Reeve and Marlene were humming the Gold Saucer song, the very same that looped throughout the park in endless, peppy monotony.

“This is kinda like the tram,” Marlene swung her arm.

“Yeah,” Reeve was trying way too hard to stay positive. “And we get to see the whole desert from here.”

“Goody.” Yuffie grumbled. She quit staring at her boots long enough to frown at a speeding vehicle. Some sporty cruiser was weaving between lanes. It slowed down beside them and she tensed. The purple racing stripes didn’t make her any less wary of the crew; a bunch of weirdos dressed like they were headed for the wrestling world championships.

Reeve yanked her behind him, one arm out to defend the girls from whatever outdated super villain thugs were stopping along the shoulder. His cat ears twitched in the slight wind.

“Gee, I feel so safe.” Yuffie mumbled. 

“Hey, boy, that you?” A familiar voice shouted to them.

Yuffie wasn’t prepared to be blinded by Dio’s fake tanned chest. The man stood up in the backseat, shorts smaller than hers gracing his buttcheeks. 

“Ew,” Yuffie moaned and covered Marlene’s eyes. No need for them both to be traumatized.

“I thought you hitchhikers looked familiar,” Dio popped the door. “Need a lift, jail birds?”

“Uh,” Reeve exchanged a look with her.

Yuffie threw up her hands. It wasn’t like they were in a position to refuse. “Why the hell not?”

There wasn’t much room in the car with Dio’s loud, muscle pumped friends and their luggage surrounding them. They managed to squish into the only vacant seat in the back, with Marlene sitting on the floor and Yuffie halfway on Reeve’s leg. He was busy asking about Dio’s plans for the next tournament, if they were heading there now, and if they’d heard Lil Stamp’s voice actor was going to be at the convention. She swore his plan was to keep talking for the entire drive and not look at her once. He kept one arm over the backseat and the other sandwiched between the luggage. Touching her seemed to be a solid nope again.

Sometimes he forgot, then the slightest brush of her fingertips against his arm would trigger the memory of how weird she’d made things. Yuffie crossed her arms and dug her elbow into his side. He didn’t even care about Battle Square. It was his least favorite part of the whole park. 

“So is the Ghost Hotel still as spooky as I remember?” Reeve was running out of topics.

“Yeah,” Marlene chimed in. “I heard there’s a monster butler and you can play chess with the ghosts and –”

And they were back to Gold Saucer rambling. That seemed an inexhaustible conversation. 

Still, Yuffie had forgotten about the hotel. She smirked at the thought of sharing a room with Reeve. He’d probably booked three rooms, but she could toy with the fantasy of it anyway. Ghosts or no ghosts, she’d finally get him alone. The only thing that was haunting was the way his hazel eyes caught the light when he stared at her for longer than three seconds. Maybe there’d be fancy room service, wine and some sappy music to go with it. She hated wine, but it didn’t matter. This was her chance to make him see her in a different light. One night could erase that infuriating dismissive nature of his. She wanted to be more than a WRO intelligence operative, more than some girl he’d picked up four years ago like a stray puppy. If it took a trip to Gold Saucer Con to make him see her for the sophisticated, alluring woman she was, then she’d suffer through a thousand Lil Stamp autograph lines.

As it happened, Marlene wasn’t the only kid with Lil Stamp mania. It took them thirty-five minutes just to check in with throngs of families and screeching children wearing dog ears and carrying replica Stamp helmets. Minato Aoki was a big deal to the legions of fans that flocked the park. Marlene was still yammering on about meeting the guy when they reached the front desk. Yuffie’s annoyance softened a little. Well, at least the car troubles hadn’t ruined her first Gold Saucer visit. From the way she was bouncing around the lobby, squealing at the tacky haunted house décor, Yuffie doubted Marlene would get much sleep tonight. She was too excited. 

“Guess what?” Reeve held out their room cards. Two. There were two. 

Yuffie almost dropped the cool plastic chip when he handed one to her.

“What?” Marlene bobbed up and down on her tiptoes.

“I booked the Frightfully Fluffy Fun Suite for you guys.” Reeve declared.

It took Yuffie several moments to realize “you guys” included her. Her fingers curled over the key card.

“The one with the ghostie bed and the characters that come say hi to you at breakfast?” Marlene squealed.

“Yep, that’s the one.” Reeve was so effin’ proud of himself. He furrowed his brow at Yuffie’s silence. Marlene was squealing loud enough for both of them anyway. “What’s wrong? Aren’t you excited?”

“Yeah, sure, great.” Yuffie managed a smile. She felt like she was going to be sick. “So excited to share a room with the seven-year-old. Love that that’s how you think of me.” A defeated little laugh was all she could muster. “Happiest place in Gaia right here.”

Oblivious as always, Reeve returned her grin and carried their luggage upstairs. She couldn’t wait for him to leave so she could collapse onto the bright pink ghost moogle bed and wallow in her misery. A growing headache nudged at her temples. The prospect that Marlene was definitely not going to sleep anytime soon loomed more like a threat now that rest was all Yuffie wanted. 

“I’m gonna be Lil Stamp’s magical friend, Luna the friendly witch.” Marlene pulled a starry mage hat from her backpack for the con. “What’re you gonna be tomorrow, Yuffie?”

“Tour guide of the friendzone.” Yuffie murmured, her arm over her eyes, trying to block out the neon light from the chocobo lamps.

“Huh?” 

When Yuffie sat up, Marlene was taking pictures of the room. “Talking to your StampBop friend, again?” She tried for a smile. It wasn’t Marlene’s fault and the kid was having the time of her life with her fluffy fun ghosts and army dogs. “Well, just make sure you don’t do something embarrassing and make it super weird for the rest of your life.” Yuffie held out her hand. “What’s so great about that app anyway? Can I see?”

“Oh yeah,” Marlene handed her the phone. She climbed onto the bed beside her and scrolled through the screen. “It’s so much fun. You can make up your own dances and songs and all kinds of things.”

Yuffie had found the discussion board section of StampBop. There was a whole thread on the Shinra origins of the show. A bunch of super fans were debating everything about Shinra, including a few conspiracy theories. Ever since rumors swirled that Rufus Shinra survived the explosions, renewed interest in the snobbiest family in Midgar ran wild on the WN. “Rufus Shinra killed his father? Do people really believe that?”

Marlene tilted her head, frowning. “Um, I don’t read the forum much, but yeah. People say a lot of weird things on there.”

Yuffie snickered. “I mean, Rufus would’ve if he had the balls, but it was definitely Sephiroth.”

“You were there?” Marlene’s eyes widened. Her dad never told her the grim details of the Jenovah War. Dead corporate presidents probably weren’t the best topic for kids.

“Well, no, but –” Yuffie paused. “I mean, that’s what the others said, but how should I know? I don’t know that Rufus didn’t off his dad.” The whole idea of daddy’s boy throwing a tantrum and shoving his old man off the roof of Shinra HQ was hilarious. “Hey, wanna make a StampBop about it?”

Marlene twisted her Stamp ears around in her hands. “That seems kinda mean, doesn’t it? If he did kill him, making a dance about it wouldn’t be very nice.”

“Aw, come on,” Yuffie pulled her in for a selfie. “It’ll be fun. Smile!”

\------------

Reeve was waiting for them by the time they came down for breakfast. It was unusual to see him outside of his WRO commissioner attire. A House of Mog sweatshirt replaced the blue coat he always wore. His cat ears were still perched on his head, but a hard scowl rested beneath the fluffy, spotty feline aesthetic. Lines ringed his eyes and the scruff around his chin wasn’t trimmed and neat like usual. His hair was mussed too and all the pomade in the world couldn’t save it. He didn’t look like he’d slept a wink.

The tension was suffocating. Yuffie slid her stack of pancakes onto the table as she sat down. She glanced at Marlene, already stuffing maple syrup drenched breakfast food into her mouth. “Mornin’, commissioner.” It was the day of the con. He should have been in peak plushie loving, amusement park visiting form.

Instead, he didn’t return her greeting. “Guess who I got a call from at 4 a.m.” It wasn’t a question. It was more like a threat.

“Uh,” Yuffie hedged.

Reeve smacked his palms down on the table and stood up to yell at her. “Our biggest donor just dropped funding. Congratulation, Yuffie, we no longer have salaries.”

“What?” The pancakes tasted like sand in her mouth. “No, no, why would he do that?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Reeve pulled out his phone. “Think it had something to do with this?”

A video looped. A video she’d made last night, while exhausted and disappointed and not in control of her better judgment. Yuffie and Marlene were easily identifiable singing her original bop about how Rufus Shinra offed his old man. The video had been shared over a million times. 

“Reeve, I had no idea it would blow up like that.” Yuffie watched it loop again. Well, their dance moves were good. She had to give herself credit for that. And they looked cute as hell, but that didn’t excuse the growing catastrophe. “It was just supposed to be a joke. I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t know he’d actually find out and –”

“You made his most sensitive issue into a singalong!” Reeve screamed. 

“I,” Yuffie handed the phone back to him. “I came up with the lyrics myself if it’s any consolation.”

“It’s not.” He sank back into his chair. Bowing his head, Reeve cupped his face in his hands. “The WRO can’t recover from this. With the damages we took during Deep Ground and the new rigs we just put up… this is going to ruin us.”

Marlene was staring down at her food. “Should we take the syrup packets?”

“Yeah, we better.” Yuffie agreed. Stealing free condiments was always a good idea, especially when they were newly broke.

“What?” Reeve looked up. “Marlene, no, that’s not necessary.”

“No,” Yuffie gathered her tray. “I’m going to fix this.” She marched back to the buffet. “Marlene, give me your backpack.” The sign said free breakfast and she was going to get her free breakfast. “We’ll take pancakes and waffles for the park so we don’t have to buy overpriced Gold Saucer snacks.”

“Yeah!” Marlene helped her load the backpack with food.

“You guys, no.” Reeve looked around at the hotel staff. A few “ghosts” were shooting them disapproving scowls. “It – it’ll be alright. I’m sorry, I overreacted.”

“No, this way we’ll save money, Kitty.” Marlene beamed up at them.

“But Gold Saucer’s supposed to be a magical place where everything is moogle shaped and –” Reeve struggled to explain. “Your first trip shouldn’t be like this.”

Yuffie pulled a knife from her pocket. “We’ll cut ‘em into moogles. It’ll be just as good.”

Heaving a sigh, Reeve watched them zip up the backpack. The pastel hued rush of Gold Saucer hit them the minute they left the hotel. Balloons sprouted from every corner. Carts selling light up mage wands shouted magical greetings to anyone who past. Costumed chocobos and cactaurs ran around chirping at them. Above it all, Shooting Coaster zipped by with screams and shouts.

Yuffie looked back at her companions when she realized they were lagging behind. “Hey, why don’t we all put down our phones and, yanno, enjoy the moment?”

Reeve looked up with a deadpan scowl. “I’m having Cait Sith send out a thousand grant letters begging for money.”

Marlene lowered her precious StampBop. “I’m asking for help too.” She waved her phone as if whatever eight-year-old Lil Stamp fan she was always sending bops to was going to save the day.

Undeterred, Yuffie forged on with a bright smile and the enthusiasm of a dozen giant, fluffy chocobo mascots. “You could have Cait tell our fortunes. Come on, it’s been ages.” 

Reeve paused long enough to feign thought. “I foresee lots of instant noodles in your future. Your lucky color is blue.”

Yuffie heaved a sigh. The stairs that wound towards Wonder Square had a few ropes dividing the middle. One path lead to the convention center. Balloons and the smell of buttery popcorn wafted from the adjacent floor. 

“Look, why don’t you go nerd out at your con?” Yuffie slapped the events schedule across his face. “I know you wanna hit up that robotics panel and since we crashed your midlife crisis vacation, it’s only fair. I’ll take Marlene to go get moogle princess makeovers or something.”

The hesitation made her suspect he wasn’t sure if he could trust her to look after Marlene after the scandal that was her StampBop video. After a moment, he put his phone away and relented. “Alright, here.” Reeve handed them the bag with their souvenir money. “Don’t spend it all in one place. We still have to buy tickets for the dog’s voice actor.”

“Lil Stamp!” Marlene corrected with great offense.

“Right,” Reeve waved them off. That robotics panel was probably calling his name. “Have fun then.”  
With Reeve’s neurotic energy fading, Yuffie grabbed Marlene’s hand and lead her on a whirlwind tour of the best games in Wonder Square. They found the moogle makeover booth and by the time they made it to Speed Square, a pom pom tiara replaced Marlene’s mage hat. An identical one rested on Yuffie’s head.

“Wow, they’re so cute and fluffy!” Marlene leaned over the railing to admire the racing chocobos. “So many different colors.”

“Yeah, they’re okay.” Yuffie grinned. “Hey, know what? We should bet on them. That’ll recover some of the money we lost.”

“Yeah!” Marlene clasped her Stamp plush. “Bet on the fluffiest one!”

“I have a good feeling about this.” Yuffie tapped her princess crown. “Royalty can’t lose.”

As it turned out, royalty could lose. The exact amount that princesses could lose was the entirety of their souvenir fund. She supposed listening to the kid and betting on the fluffiest chocobo wasn’t the most sound strategy. By the time Reeve appeared with a bag of the latest robotics parts, they were sitting on the ground eating pancakes that didn’t turn out very moogle-like either.

He paused. Yuffie didn’t get up. She preferred staring at his shoes when she had bad news to tell him. The silence told her he’d already guessed it. “You didn’t.”

“I’m sorry!” Yuffie wailed. “I just thought if I could double our money it would make up for the video.”

Groaning, Reeve slumped down beside them and covered his face with his hands. “I don’t understand how you could lose that bad. What sort of reasoning did you go off? What made you pick that chocobo?”

“It was fluffy.” Yuffie rested her head on her knees to avoid the speechless horror on Reeve’s face.  
Marlene looked up from her pancakes. “Oh, it’s almost time for Lil Stamp!”

Right, the autographs. They didn’t have the gil for it now. Reeve scowled at her a moment longer before holding out his hand. She knew what he was going to suggest. The altruism of it all made her sick. “Come on, hand it over.”

“I’m not returning my tiara!” Yuffie clutched the plastic crown to her head.

“I’m returning this year’s best AI input designs.” Reeve shook the bag at her. “You can part with the tiara.”

“But –” Yuffie dropped it in his hand.

“She’s a child,” Reeve scolded her, as if adults couldn’t buy princess crowns at Gold Saucer. He added in a louder voice, “Go ahead and get in line. I just need to take care of a couple things first.”

A couple things like selling her hopes and dreams and sense of childhood wonder. By the time he joined them, the stupid Lil Stamp line wrapped the entire lower convention floor. Screeching children were everywhere. They were nearly to the front of the line when some chocobo costumed attendant threw the rope across. Yuffie could see a small desk with a bored looking man in a plastic army helmet sipping an iced coffee.

“Sorry, kids,” the chocobo declared. “Lil Stamp isn’t seeing anymore cadets today. Come back tomorrow.”

“But we have tickets,” Yuffie held the overpriced strips of paper up as proof.

“Sorry.” The chocobo seemed to be full of apologies. “Mr. Aoki decided to take a break.”

Reeve pointed at the voice of Lil Stamp with disgust. “Doesn’t look like he needs a break to me.”

“Do you know how much Minato Aoki gets paid just to show up to this con?” This chocobo was seriously starting to piss her off. “Go on now. The line starts again tomorrow at 8 a.m.”

“No Lil Stamp?” Marlene clutched her backpack. It reeked of maple syrup and sadness.

“No, we’re seeing Lil Stamp.” Yuffie crossed her arms. “I am not moving.” The universe had screwed them over enough. They came all the way to Gold Saucer for a cartoon dog’s autograph and like hell they were going to get it.

“Don’t make me call security.” The chocobo sounded like it was rolling its eyes.

“Call ‘em.” Reeve stepped in front of her. “Corel Prison didn’t stop us last time and it won’t stop us now.”

“You’ve done time in Corel?” The chocobo backed away. 

“Kitty’s been to jail twice.” Marlene declared with a smile.  
“Maybe we’ll tell our old prison friends that you had the nerve to crush a poor kid’s dreams.” Yuffie took a step forward.

The chocobo retreated all the way back to the table and whispered a few things in Mr. Voice of Lil Stamp’s ear. He scuttled back to them, bowing in apology.

“S-since you came all this way, Mr. Aoki has decided to make an exception for just one more Lil Stamp cadet.” The chocobo unclipped the rope and Marlene ran squealing towards the booth. 

With the backpack signed and Marlene talking on about how great Lil Stamp’s trash actor was, Yuffie allowed herself a smug grin. She relaxed a little more as they made their way towards the gondolas. They might’ve ruined the WRO’s future, but at least they could make one little kid happy.

“The gondolas!” Marlene tugged on her arm. “You and Kitty should go.”

“Oh,” Yuffie winced at the very thought of those rickety things. “Not for me, sorry. I don’t do heights. Motion sickness. Nope, nope, nope.”

“Aww,” Marlene hung her head. “Can we just stand on it for a second so I can take a picture?”

“Fine,” Yuffie groaned. “You’d think with your signed backpack you’d quit making demands on me, kid.” She got into the cable car and leaned in for a picture. The flash blinked and Marlene ran out, slamming the door on them. Her giggles made Yuffie wanna take back everything she’d done to get the damn autograph.

“Marlene!” Yuffie lurched into the door. The safety latch swung shut and the ground shifted underneath her. “This isn’t funny! Let us out!” 

Another chocobo costumed ride attendant waved at them through the window. 

“No,” Yuffie moaned, pounding on the glass. She knew it was too late. The gondola was already ascending. Her stomach kept time with the flip flopping rollercoaster overhead as the sharp taste of bile welled in her throat. “No, no, no.” Yuffie slumped against the gondola, her forehead resting on the cool glass. “I knew I shouldn’t have eaten those pancakes.”

“Are you alright?” Reeve caught her shoulder when she stumbled sideways. 

“Of course I’m not alright!” Yuffie straightened and promptly regretted it. “Ohmygod, open the window, open the window.” She didn’t see how he managed to get the plastic safety bar off. She didn’t see much of anything besides the glittering lights of Wonder Square below and herds of happy families who were about to have their vacations ruined. 

Reeve held her short hair back while she threw up all over the happiest place in Gaia.

Clutching her stomach, Yuffie wiped her mouth and retreated to the farther end of the small bench, putting as much space between herself and the view as possible. They weren’t even halfway through the ride. 

“I’m sorry,” Reeve fanned her with the convention map. “Maybe you should try closing your eyes.”

“Don’t tell me what to do!” Yuffie swatted the map away. “What are you sorry for? I’m the one who thought buffet breakfast would stay good in a backpack for nine hours. You didn’t even want me to take the pancakes.” He opened his mouth to argue because arguing over why he was well within rights to apologize was a thing Reeve did. God, she was so sick of his martyr complex. “I crashed your vacation, I lost our funding because of some stupid video, I decided to gamble the rest of our trip money on chocobos. You aren’t responsible for everyone’s goddamn decisions.”

“Yuffie, you’re going to make yourself sick again.” He reminded her, but he’d backed away and quit trying to be helpful.

“If I wanna be sick, I’ll damn well be sick.” Yuffie jumped up from the bench. The pukey feeling returned. She gritted her teeth against the growing nausea until it past. “You don’t get to call the shots. Barret and Cid knew the schematics for the oil rigs just as well as you did and Shalua researched the hell out of fossil fuels. They took the risk, we all did. You don’t get to own all the blame when something goes wrong and you don’t get to run away either.” 

Reeve eyebrows arched over his startled gaze. He opened his mouth and – wisely – closed it again.

“So quit hogging the guilt! All of us had our own reasons for joining the WRO. Barret’s never going to rest until the planet and everyone in it is safe, you know that. He’ll fix the problem with the rigs and everything will be okay. If not oil, then we’ll find another way to power the world. Who knows, maybe we can use wind or the sun or chocobos! And I miss Shalua too, but she knew she was willing to die for her sister. And Vincent didn’t join just because you bullied him into it. He believed in the WRO, same as anyone. We’ll find him. I know we will. But if we don’t have our fearless leader, none of us have a WRO to come home to.”

The numb shock at her honesty dissolved into the ghost a smile. “I see.” The lack of a wordy retort made her shoulders slump in relief. So he was actually taking her criticism in stride. That was a change. “And what was your reason?”

“Huh?” Yuffie hadn’t intended for the conversation to get turned around on her. This truth talk was supposed to be about Reeve. “Oh, I, um,” she clutched her arm and considered telling him she just really wanted to dress up like a moogle and spy on people. The lie was too weak to be believable, even for her. “I didn’t want you to go run off back to executive suit land and forget about me.”

A different kind of shock formed on Reeve’s face. He was shaking his head to protest, but she wouldn’t let him apologize for the mere implication that he would abandon her.

“And the costumes.” The moogle attire was still a major perk of the job. “The costumes were pretty great.” She gave a pathetic laugh. “Look, I don’t know when I started needing to be around you and I’ve been trying to figure it out for the last four years, but I can’t. All I know is that when you’re not here, I’m not okay either. And I know I made everything weird because I kissed you in a utility closet, but it’s worse when you just pretend it never happened.”

“I didn’t –”

“You saw me on the bridge after and jumped over the railing to avoid me.”

“Right.” Reeve’s pasty pale nerd face was turning red. “Well, I wasn’t trying to avoid you. It just seemed like the responsible thing to do.”

“Since when are you responsible for me?” Yuffie snarled back in disgust. It was like he hadn’t heard a word she’d been saying. “If you didn’t like it, you could’ve just said so.”

An awkward laugh escaped him. “That’s not it. Honestly, I was afraid that I liked it too much.” Reeve ran a hand through his hair. “Yuffie,” he looked at her at last. “You were sixteen when I met you. I’m way too old for you and you’re my employee. I didn’t think it would be right to act on those feelings.”

“And you were a stuffed cat when I met you!” So he had feelings inside that plushie husk of his after all. “Are you kidding me? That’s what you’re worried about?” She jabbed a finger into his chest. “I’ve survived like three world ending catastrophes with you, I stole your materia and left you for dead, you chucked a keystone at that pretty boy Turk, and I’m currently stuck on a gondola puking my guts out.” A ridiculous smile tugged at her face. “If we can make it through all of that, you really think something as stupid as you being a dirty old man is going to stop me?” Yuffie shook her head. “It’s not your call to make. You don’t get to be the one who decides what we can and can’t do, not when all I actually want you to do is push me up against this window and kiss me so hard every moogle in Gold Saucer has to cover its eyes.”

A sudden rush of dizziness hit her almost before the demand was out of her mouth. It happened so fast that it took her a moment to realize it wasn’t brought on by another fit of nausea, but rather by Reeve catching her around the waist and pinning her into the corner of the gondola. Her head bumped the kitchy wooden frame, but all she could feel was his beard tickling her neck, lips leaving a trail of fire along her collarbone. A sharp bite took the air from her lungs and she thought she’d never want to breathe again. 

Fireworks exploded over them in the cheesiest damn timing she could’ve hoped for. Reeve steadied them with one hand against the window and the other around her hip as the gondola rocked to a stop and took in the view. She didn’t so much as glance at the booming display of color and light. All she saw were Reeve’s dark eyes, like the dead parts of space but infinite and endless and looking at her – finally looking at her. He found her mouth at last and brushed her lower lip with his teeth, wanting, teasing, tempting more. The daze she’d been frozen with lifted enough for her to run her fingers through his hair and grab onto the disheveled locks as he kissed her. His cat ears fell off, a distance thud somewhere in the gondola.

He wasn’t avoiding her touch now. Their bodies were smashed together tight enough for Yuffie to feel every breath that heaved through his chest. Tight enough to feel the phone vibrate in his front pocket and wince at the loud victory ringtone.

Reeve offered an apologetic laugh, bumping his forehead into hers. He licked his lips as they broke away and winced. “Oh,” he tried to hide the sudden gag by attending to his phone. “Oh, that’s not pleasant.” He couldn’t help adding as he gritted his teeth against the taste of fresh vomit.

“Oh, shit, I forgot.” Yuffie ran a hand over her face. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He was distracted by his phone again, so she leaned over to have a look.

“Funding’s back. No need to send threats in future.” She read the message aloud. They stared at each other a moment longer before bursting into shouts and cheers. The WRO would carry on another day, dance video or not. Yuffie threw her arms around Reeve and laughed while he spun her around. “I knew it would all work out! Did you send someone to shake down daddy’s boy?”

“No,” Reeve shook his head. “I have no idea what he’s on about, but I’m not going to argue with it.”

“Must be your good fortune then,” Yuffie grinned. “No instant noodles for us.” The cable car was coming to its landing. She had to be a little crazy to wish the gondola ride was longer. Yuffie caught his arm as the doors opened. “Please don’t run away again.”

She was relieved when he pulled her against him and rested his cheek on her head. “It’s not particularly effective when you always come find me, princess.”

A long repressed sniggering fit had them both laughing like idiots as they stepped off the gondola. Yuffie wobbled. It was good to be back on solid ground again. Marlene was waiting for them at the gate.

“Did you like it? Was the ride fun?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Yuffie smirked at Reeve. He looked away and pretended to be interested in the balloon cart. “Real fun.”

“And we got our money back!” Marlene squealed. “Does that mean we can go to the gift shop now?”  
Yuffie’s smirk turned a bit bemused. “How’d you know about that?”

“Vincent told me he took care of it.” Marlene held up her phone. Cerberus57 had just sent her a StampBop message. 

Yuffie couldn’t hear the last remnants of fireworks over their mutual screaming and shouting. She snatched the phone from Marlene and scrolled through all the pictures and stupid songs and messages about how they’d lost the WRO’s funding and their car had broken down and –

“You’ve been chatting with Vincent this entire time?” Yuffie screeched.

Marlene tilted her head, confused. “Yeah, he’s on StampBop now. I made him get an account.” She giggled and took her phone back. “Oh, he said to tell you he’ll be back soon. He just needs a little time to think about things, but he said I shouldn’t worry and neither should you.”

Yuffie exchanged a look with Reeve. She swallowed the tears rising at her throat and managed a nod instead. “One more StampBop for the road?” Her voice was hoarse, betraying all the gross emotions swirling through her brain. It wouldn’t do for the WRO’s Chief Intelligence Officer to be getting soft. “I know the perfect song.”

With a wry grin, Reeve grabbed the phone and pressed record.

**Author's Note:**

>  _Rufus Shinra,  
>  Killed his father, whacked him,  
> Can't convince me that it didn't happen,  
> Fed him to Dark Nation, she snackin',  
> What's happenin',  
> Rufus Shinra._ Yes, it is a parody of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk2INoa1Fxc Yes, I am trash.
> 
> \- This is like Writing 101 what not to do. Excessive/unnecessary flashbacks that drag on forever before getting to the main story, lots of ellipses, exclamations!, and adverbs, chocobo mascot abuse. Yet here we are. And I am okay with this.
> 
> \- Barret didn't need to check on the oil rig. He got the idea that Reeve wasn't doing well and visited to cheer him up. Would never admit this. It's none of anyone's business anyway.
> 
> \- This is likely the grand conclusion to my furry engineer related fanfic. It leaves our dear Reevie in a happy place and seems to wrap things up well. This piece is kind of the end piece to the Hundred Ways while the other two bookend each other nicely. I don't really have any other ideas for him besides him being a petty ass soccer mom while babysitting Marlene and rolling shopping carts into Scarlet's car or something. Hope you all enjoyed! <3


End file.
